Former WWE superstars Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods aka New Day are confirmed to be AEW bound during their biggest weekend of the year. Rumors have been circulating about AEW interest since the news of New Day leaving WWE over three months ago. The obvious move was to join AEW as the next bigger promotion since WWE reportedly wanted them to take a massive pay cut.
Fightful reports that Woods and Kingston have officially signed with AEW to likely debut at the massive All In 2026 PPV on Sunday:
“Fightful Select has confirmed, As of Saturday, Kofi and Austin Creed, formerly the New Day, are headed to AEW. Kofi (Kofi Kingston in WWE) & Creed (Xavier Woods in WWE), known as the New Day in the promotion, departed WWE at the beginning of May. AEW will hold AEW All In on Sunday at Wembley Stadium.”
AEW has become more selective about which former WWE talents they choose to sign, but New Day has been considered a no-brainer for months. Woods and Kingston had to wait out their 90-day clause that expired earlier this month. AEW clearly wanted to wait until their version of WrestleMania for New Day’s big debut. All In 2026 will have nearly 50,000 fans ready to greet Woods and Kingston with a huge reaction.
Why This Is A Huge Signing For AEW
AEW only wants to add former WWE talents they believe can improve the product since a few former names ended up being regretful signings. New Day feels like an easy yes since they are among the most popular duos in WWE history.
The 2010s saw New Day and the Usos resurrecting tag team on wrestling on a bigger stage. However, Kingston and Woods also sold a lot of merchandise to become noteworthy draws that brought in money to the promotion.
AEW is adding an all-time great tag team with name value who can still perform at a high level and convince new fans to give the company a chance. New Day also has many “dream matches” to take place in AEW against teams like the Young Bucks, FTR, and the Motor City Machine Guns.
How Will New Day Debut For AEW?
The current storyline of main eventer Swerve Strickland having mystery partners for an upcoming trios gauntlet has made fans already expect the debut to come before this news. Woods and Kingston will likely team with Strickland to have a chance at the AEW Trios Championship.
Most fans want to see New Day as a tag team for the tag division, and that will still likely happen. An association with Swerve gives them an instant relevant spot since most top AEW stars are in factions and this could be a tremendous act together.
AEW only has one chance to debut the popular tag team and it will likely happen in the next 24 hours. Kingston and Woods must make a huge impact from day one to attract their fans and make the AEW fan base want to see more of them.
AEW Officially Signs Popular Former WWE Act Before All In 2026